Sources within Iran told the publication that the country's
government is having second thoughts about the massive
double-decker aircraft.

In fact, an Iranian government spokes person pointed out to
Reuters that the A380 portion of the deal is an option that can
be switched over to other aircraft models rather than a firm
order.

As a result, Iran's non-committal attitude towards the A380 is
troubling for the airplane.

Should the Iran Air order fall through, it would be a significant
blow to the morale of the embattled program. Iran's 12 A380s
represent the largest commitment from an airline for the aircraft
since 2013.

"Following the preliminary agreement for 118 aircraft signed in
January with Iran Air, negotiations are progressing - and as with
all agreements, it takes time for them to be firmed up and
finalized," Airbus said in a statement to Business Insider.

Iran Air was not immediately available for comment.

Although Airbus has taken 319 orders for the A380, the production
backlog is at just 129 planes. As a result, Airbus announced
earlier this year that its will slow down the production rate for the airplane to
buy the sales team some more time to generate orders.

In January, Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier called the deal a
significant step in the modernization of Iran's commercial
aviation sector.

Because of economic sanctions levied against Iran over the past
few decades, the country's national airline has been unable to
expand its service and update its fleet. As a result, Iran Air's
fleet of nearly 50 airplanes has an average age of 27 years,
according to Airfleets.net.